at that height of impudence to declare their sin as Sodom, and glory in their shame; but to be ashamed only because men see it, and not with Ezra, to say, "O my God, I am ashamed, and blush to look up unto thee," ashamed that thou seest it, this is but hypocrisy.

A graceless heart may be troubled also for the rod that sin draws after it, but not for sin itself, as it provokes God to inflict rods.

But the troubles of upright ones for sin are of another kind and nature.

1. They are troubled that God is wronged, and his Spirit troubled by their sins. So the penitent prodigal ; "I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight," Luke xv. 21; against heaven, that is, against him whose throne is in heaven, a great, glorious, and infinite Majesty! A poor worm of the earth has lifted up his hand against the God of heaven.

2. They are troubled for the defilement of their own souls by sin. Hence they are compared in Proverbs xxv. 26, to a troubled fountain. You know it is the property of a living spring, when any filth falls into it, or that which lies in the bottom of its channel is raised and defiles its streams, never to leave working until it has purged itself of it, and recovered its purity again. So it is with a righteous man. He loves purity in the precept, Psal. exix. 140; and he loves it no less in the principle and practice. He thinks it is hell enough to lie under the pollution of sin, if he should never come under damnation for it.

3. They are troubled for the estrangements of God, and the hidings of his face from them because of their sin. It would go close to an ingenuous spirit to see a dear and faithful friend whom he has grieved, to look strange and shy upon him at the next meeting, as if he did not know him; much more does it go to the heart of a gracious man to see the face of God turned from him, and not to be towards him as in times past. This went

to David's heart after his fall, as you may see in Psalm li. 11 ; "Cast me not away from thy presence, and take not thy Holy Spirit from me." Lord, if thou turn thy

back upon me and estrange thyself from me, I am a lost man; that is the greatest mischief that can befall me.

4. Their troubles for sin run deep in comparison with what other men's do. They are strong to bear other troubles, but sink and faint under this, Psalm xxxviii. 4. Other sorrows may for the present be violent and make more noise, but this sorrow sinks deeper into the soul. 5. Their troubles for sin are more private and silent troubles than others are; "their sore runs in the night," as it is Psal. lxxvii. 2. Not but that they may and do open their troubles to men, and it is a mercy when they meet with a judicious, tender, and experienced Christian to unbosom themselves unto; but when all is done, it is God and thy soul alone that must whisper out the matter. That is indeed a sincere sorrow for sin, which is expressed secretly to God in the closet.

6. Their troubles are incurable by creature-comforts. It is not the removing of some outward pressures and in'conveniences that can remove their burden. Nothing but pardon, peace, and witnessed reconciliation, can quiet the gracious heart.

7. Their troubles for sin are ordinate and kept in their own place. They dare not stamp the dignity of Christ's blood upon their worthless tears and groans for sin. "Lord, wash my sinful tears in the blood of Christ," was once the desire of a true penitent.

are.

And thus our trouble for sin shows us what our hearts

SECTION VI.

The behaviour and carriage of the soul with respect to subjection to the commands of sin, shows what our estate and condition is. This will separate dross from gold. All unregenerate men are the servants of sin; they subject themselves to its commands. This the scripture sometimes calls a "conversation in the lusts of the flesh," Eph. ii. 3; sometimes the "selling of themselves to sin," 1 Kings xxi. 20. Now, as Dr. Reynolds observes, though the children of God complain with Paul that they are

"sold under_sin," yet there is a vast difference betwixt these two. The saints are sold to it by Adam, but others by their own continued consent. But to show you the difference in this matter, I conceive it necessary to show wherein the reigning power of sin does not consist, and then wherein it does; that you may plainly discern who are in subjection to the reigning power of their corruptions, and who are not. Now there are divers things common both to the regenerate and unregenerate; and we cannot say the dominion of sin lies in any or in all of them, abstractly and simply considered.

1. Both one and the other, having original corruption dwelling in them, may also find this fountain breaking forth into gross and scandalous sins. But we cannot say that because original corruption thus breaks forth into gross and scandalous sins in both, therefore it must needs reign in the one as well as in the other. A righteous man may "fall before the wicked," Prov. xxv. 26. He may fall into the dirt of grosser iniquities, and furnish them with matter of reproach. So did David, Peter, Abraham, and many more of the Lord's upright-hearted ones, whose souls nevertheless sin did not reign over by a voluntary subjection to its commands; nor must this embolden any to sin with more liberty.

2. Though an upright soul fall once and again into sin, though he reiterate the same act of sin which he has repented of before, yet it cannot merely from thence be concluded, that therefore sin reigns over him, as it does over a wicked man who makes it his daily trade. I confess every reiteration of sin puts a further aggravation upon it; and it is sad that we should repent and sin, and sin and repent; but yet you read in Prov. xxiv. 16, "A just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again." Job's friends were good men, yet he tells them, "These ten times have ye reproached me," Job xix. 3. This indeed shows a heart that greatly needs purging; for it is with relapses into spiritual as it is with relapses into natural diseases: return of the disease shows that the morbific matter was not duly purged; but though it shows the foulness, it does not always prove the falseness of the

heart.

Asa

3. Though the one may be impatient of the reproof of his sin, as well as the other, yet that alone will not conclude sin to be in full dominion over the one as it is over the other. It is a pity that any good man should storm at a just rebuke of sin; that such a precious oil as is proper to heal, should be imagined to break his head; but yet flesh will be tender and touchy, even in good men. was a good man, and yet he was wroth with the prophet who reproved him, 2 Chron. xvi. 10. Yet I doubt not but that their consciences smite them for it, when pride suffers not another to do it. A reproof may be well-timed and ill-managed by another, and so may provoke; but they will hear the voice of conscience in another manner.

4. Though in both some one particular sin may have more power than another, yet neither does this alone prove, that therefore that sin must reign in one, as it does in another. Indeed the beloved lust of every wick ́ed man is king over his soul; but yet a godly man's constitution or calling may incline him more to one sin than another; and yet neither that nor any other may be said to be in dominion; for though David speaks of his iniquity, his special sin, in Psal. xviii. 23, which some suppose to be the sin of lying from that intimation in Psal. cxix. 19; yet you see in one place he begs God to keep him from it, and in the other he tells us he kept himself from it, and both show he was not the servant of it.

5. Though both may sin against knowledge, yet it will not follow from thence, that therefore sins against knowledge must needs be sins in dominion in the one, as they are in the other. There was too much light abused and violence offered in David's deliberated sin, as he confesses in Psal. li. 6, and the sad story itself too plainly shows; and yet, in the main, David was an upright man still; though this consideration of the fact wounded his integrity, and stands upon record for a caution to all others.

SECTION VII.

We have seen what does not infer the dominion of sin in the former particulars, being simply considered; I

shall next show you what does, and how sincere and false hearts are distinguished in this trial.

1. Assent and consent upon deliberation notes the soul to be under the dominion of sin. When the mind approves sin, and the will gives its plenary consent to it, this sets up sin in its throne, and puts the soul into subjection to it; for the dominion of sin consists in its authority over us, and our voluntary subjection to it. This you find to be the character of a wicked graceless person; "He deviseth mischief upon his bed; he setteth himself in a way that is not good; he abhorreth not evil," Psal. xxxvi. 4.

The best men may fall into sin through mistake, or be precipitated into sin through the violence of temptation; but to devise mischief and set himself in an evil way, this notes full assent of the mind; and then not to abhor evil, notes full consent of the will; and these two being given to sin, not only antecedently to the acting of it, but also consequently to it, to like it afterwards as well as before; this puts the soul fully under the power of sin. What can it give more? This in direct opposition to the apostle, Rom. xii. 1, is to present their bodies a dead sacrifice, unholy, and abominable to God, acceptable to the devil, which is their unreasonable service. All men by nature are given to sin, but these men give themselves to it.

2. The customary practice of sin subjects the soul to the dominion of sin; and so "he that is born of God doth not commit sin," 1 John iii. 9. Fall into sin, yea, the same sin, he may, and that often; but then it is not without reluctance, repentance, and a protest entered by the soul in heaven against it; so that sin has not a quiet possession of his soul. He is not the servant of sin, nor does he willingly walk after its commandments; but se do its own servants: it is their daily practice; "they proceed from evil to evil," Jer. ix. 3.

3. Delight in sin proves the dominion of sin. So the servants of sin are described; "They have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations," Isa. lxvi. 3.

As our delight in God is the measure of our holiness,